Changing Times
by lil-angel-madi
Summary: Harry begins doing something strange and everyone is confused. His actions lead them into tough times and Draco is forced to realise something. Bad Summary. Bad Title. Bad rating. Sorry! Also, HPDM
1. Uhm?

Hermione noticed it first; the sudden silence which swept over the Slytherin table. She looked up and her jaw dropped – many who saw what she was looking at soon were overcome by the same reactions. A polite cough seemed to echo throughout the hall, calling everyone to complete silence.

"Quite right there, Potter?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow at Harry as he was casually sitting amongst the Slytherins like it was an everyday event.

"Yeah I'm great, thanks for asking! But really, I just had a question for you Malfoy" Harry looked him straight in the face. Draco looked rather confused but he quickly rebutted "Uh no!" like it was the most obvious answer to give; which in hind sight it really was; considering their less than amiable relationship.

"Well anyway" Harry trudged on as if no one had refused him. "Were you home tutored before you came to Hogwarts?"

Pansy, who had been shoved to the side when Harry sat down, look at Harry as though he had just gone insane and declared to the world he was pink puppy dog, hoping to play with a ball before hopping off to class. "You. Are such. A freak." She stated with pauses emphasising every word.

"Well?" Harry prompted Draco, ignoring Pansy as if she weren't there.

Draco was still shocked. "Obviously I was, Pot-Head"

Harry laughed at his new nickname as he got up. "Okay, that was all I wanted. Chocolate frog?" He offered a frog to all those in his vicinity; each person only staring at him.

"What ever" He said to no one in particular as he walked out of the hall, biting off the frogs head – answering the question on everyone's mind – had it been jinxed?

Apparently not.

Whispers broke out through the hall as people sent confused glances to each other. Only one person seemed to get over the mornings events quickly; Hermione. Strange as Harry's actions may have been, she had Ancient Rune books to read an no one was going to stop her!

NOTE: Ok, sorry! Some of the chapters ... like this one... are really quite short!! 


	2. Ongoing

Harry acted normally the rest of the day so everyone soon forgot about breakfast that morning.  
That is, until the next day.

The hall went silent once more as Harry made his way over to the Slytherin table, wiggling into the 'seat' between Draco and Pansy; once again shoving her slightly to the side in his process.

"Oh, sorry Parkinson! I thought this seat was bigger!" He said cheerily before turning to Draco.

"So Malfoy, is it true you speak several languages?

"… Why are you _here_?" Malfoy asked.

"I just wanted to know! Besides, the sooner you tell me, the sooner I go!" Harry hoped this might persuade the Slytherin into answering him. 

Draco sighed. "Yeah, I speak English… obviously, uhm, French, Spanish… a bit of German, Italian… I think that's about it. I figured after I left Hogwarts I would keep learning Mandarin, because it's quite hard to learn without actually hearing it and being _surrounded_ by it." 

"Woah" Harry was shocked. "How can you remember all of that? I know some Spanish and that's about it!_"  
_

"What can I say Potter? Some of us are just more _intelligent_ than others. Tu eras cabronne!" Malfoy finished in Spanish, looking quite pleased with himself.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him and said "tu estupidez continúa asombrandome. Chocolate frog?" He offered again as he got up to leave, looking extremely pleased at the look of complete and utter shock on Draco's face. Again, everyone declined and Harry walked out of the Great Hall, leaving many people gaping and many people wondering what on earth just happened!

Harry's morning ritual of asking Draco a question continued on throughout the week. Questions such as 'Do wizards drive motorbikes?', 'Did you have any pets when you were little?' and finally 'if you could have any super power in the world, which would it be?'

Draco sighed in frustration. "It would be the power to make you leave me alone and let me eat my breakfast in peace. Now, go!"

Harry paused for a moment before deciding to comply. "Most people would just ask nicely" and with that, he took an apple and left the Great Hall, leaving a chocolate frog on the bench rather than offering again.

NOTE: Hey!! There's still a bit more of the story to go, but I figured if I just post this up, it will make me keep writing!  
Also, I really don't like pretty much anything I write, so if you could please tell me what you think so far, that'd be great!!  
Thanks, luv Madi! Xox

OH I NEARLY FORGOT!  
- Tu eras cabronne – means something along the lines of 'your a dumbass' ... apparently it's quite rude...  
- tu estupidez continúa asombrandome – means 'your stupidity continues to amaze me'

HOWEVER, I do not speak Spanish so I'm sorry if they're wrong!!


	3. Oh My God!

It was late in the evening on Friday and Draco Malfoy was doing his Prefect rounds; left to his own thoughts. 'This is so boring… I've basically been walking around in circles for two hours… no one is out tonight… maybe I should go drag out some little Hufflepuff just so I can give them detention? Nah, too much effort… I'll go get something to eat' 

As Draco walked into the kitchens, he could hear someone speaking and he immediately stopped. '_Finally_', he thought, 'I can deduct points, give out a detention, _something!'_

"I don't know Dobby… I'm worried. I just don't know if I'm good enough…" 

Draco didn't expect to turn the corner and find Harry Potter, sitting on the bench talking to his old house elf, that's for sure!

"Potter? What the hell are you doing here? Wait, what am I talking about? _Of course _you're out of bed, sneaking around! You always are! I'm surprised I haven't caught you out more often!"

"Shit Malfoy! How long have you been here for? How much did you hear?

"Oh, enough!" Draco lied, implying he had heard what ever it was that Harry was worried about.

"So… so you think I'll be good enough to play for the Chudley Cannon's?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Draco half screamed. He had no idea _that_ was what Harry would be talking about.

"I mean," Harry continued, "I know they asked me so they _must_ think that I've got potential. I was just worried… they said I have to give them my answer by tomorrow…"

"You can't be serious! They asked you to play! That's ridiculous! You're only sixteen! You can't play for the Chudley Cannon's! That is so unfair! When did they ask you?"

Harry had started to laugh at Draco half-way through his rant and the longer Draco went on for, the more Harry laughed.

"You are such an idiot! You _obviously_ didn't hear a word I was saying before!"

Draco gaped like a fish. "Well... I … I heard a little bit." He was starting to feel a little stupid now. "So… you … weren't asked to play?

"The Chudley Cannon's _definitely _did not ask me to play for them!"

"Oh."

"Yeah, 'Oh'!" Harry laughed at him again before shaking his head slightly and grabbing his drink he had been sipping. "Thanks Dobby; I suppose you're right. Anyway, it's not like a have a choice!"

Dobby smiled at Harry before excusing himself to go clean up the transfiguration classroom. He disappeared with a slight _pop_ and Harry was left with Draco.

"Since when have you known Dobby? Actually, what are you doing down here? I should be giving you a detention!"

"I'm just thinking…" Harry had started walking further back into the kitchen, far into what seemed to be some hidden pantries. "Have you ever been back here before? It's really cool. The pantry runs all the way along underneath the end of Hogwarts and if you open this blind," Harry stopped and opened up the curtains covering the large window. "You can see into the lake!"

Draco stopped and stared out through the window. Harry was extremely right. The kitchens appeared to run underground right out to the corner of the lake, so much so that they had built a window so you could see what was happening _inside_ the lake!

He almost jumped as a dark figure swam past on the other side of the window and as it swam away, he hazarded a guess as to it being a mermaid.

"How did you find out about this?" He asked in amazement as he continued looking out the window.

Harry smiled. "I suppose if you spend as much time as me wandering around the castle, you'll find pretty much everything!"

Draco stopped and looked at him before asking after some time "Why do you keep asking me questions at breakfast?"

"You interest me… I wanted to know more about you." Harry shrugged as if he didn't really know what else to say.

"Well… why now all of a sudden?" 

Harry thought about it before he replied "Time goes on Malfoy. Sooner or later I might not be able to ask you those questions and I would like to think that if anything happened to me, I had at least attempted to get to know you a bit better; even if you still don't like me very much."

There was silence for a short time while neither boy knew what else to say. "I should probably go now. Good night, Malfoy." Harry finished his drink and starting walking back the way they came.

Draco was still staring at Harry and it was only as he was nearly gone that he thought to say something.

"I would read peoples thoughts!" He saw Harry stop ahead. "That would be my power" He continued as he walked towards Harry. "To be able to read peoples' thoughts. That way I would always be able to understand what people actually thought of me." He stopped dead only a metre from Harry and was secretly hoping he didn't sound like a loser.

Harry opened the kitchens door and before he walked out, he turned his head back to Draco, a sweet smile playing across his lips. "You know Malfoy; I don't hate you." He leaned forward, closing the gap between them, and laid a light but lingering kiss across his lips. "In fact, I'd say it's really quite far from it!" He winked and was gone.

Draco was left standing in the kitchens when it finally dawned on him what just happened.

"Oh. My. God." He looked so shocked; his mouth had dropped open again and his eyes had grown wide.

"I forgot to give him his detention!"


	4. Sleepy Faces and Revelations

Sleepy students slowly filled the Great Hall for breakfast on Saturday – albeit, a far lesser amount of students than usual as many preferred to skip breakfast on Saturdays and sleep until late.  
Harry was not one of them today.

He arose early and 'accidently' woke Ron up and then 'accidently' sent Hedwig up to poke Hermione until she woke up. As a result, by eight in the morning, Harry was happily marching down to breakfast with Ron and Hermione trudging along side him.

Ron woke up slightly as the fresh smell of toast and sausages and even fresh pumpkin juice wafted through the halls and soon he was leading the trio down to the hall.

Ron had filled his plate and had started on his toast before Hermione had even made herself comfortable. She had a horrified look on her face as his jaw seemed to just keep expanding to fit more and more food in, but carried on as if nothing had shocked her in any way.

The hall had begun to fill with a couple more students and there were now several teachers at the staff table; Professor Sprout looking very excited as she told Hagrid about the new creatures she found in her 'rare and exotic' flower patch.

All of a sudden, a stabbing pain drilled into Harry's scar as he had never felt it before. He automatically flung his hands to his forehead to hold his scar as he felt like his head was sure to burst any second now.

He fell backwards off his chair and was writhing on the floor in pain – images and voices echoing through his head.

Hermione screamed and rushed down by his side, Ron quickly following suit. Students were crowding around as Harry screamed in pain – eyes closed; unaware of anything that was going on around him.

When Harry was still in agonising pain after fifteen minutes, Hermione became more and more worried by the moment. "This has been going on for too long! We _must_ wake him up!" She cried out.

"_Don't_ touch him!" Dumbledore was by Harry's side now and staring at him intently; as if trying to see what Harry was seeing. "What is happening to Harry now could be extremely valuable to us. If we wake him up now, we may not only lose priceless details, but we could also harm Harry in the process. I have never seen such a strong connection as that which Harry has right at this instant; if we sever it, I do not know what the physical and mental consequences could be!"

Hermione felt useless as she and Ron sat by Harry, trying to hold him still.

Dumbledore himself was beginning to get worried but knew he could not say too much in front of the growing number of students so as not to create panic, or give out details such as Harry's connection with Voldemort.

Hermione was in tears by the time Harry calmed down slightly; still holding his scar but now lying still.

"Are... are you alright Harry?" she asked, scared of his reply; if any was to be given at all.

Harry instinctively sat up quickly and leaned to the side as he threw up; Hermione and Ron trying to soothe him. Dumbledore cleaned up the vomit instantly and leaned close to Harry as he started to talk.

"Nott was tortured; didn't have the right information. Dementors were freed from Azkaban – they're with Voldemort now." Harry stopped holding his head for a moment while he threw up again and then continued on again; trying to remember and repeat as much information as he could.

Nearly half the school was now circled around Harry; listening to every word he said. Theodore Nott from Slytherin was now deathly pale and soon he was escorted by Madam Pomfrey to the sick bay to help keep him calm.

"Six muggles were killed in Edinburgh, four in London, three in West Hampshire and five in Glasgow." Harry continued rapidly before he had to throw up again.

"Malfoy has taken his wife into hiding. Goyle found out something bad... he... he found information about..." Harry wracked his brains as he tried to remember. "He found information about the goblins. They don't want to join Voldemort, but a few giants have been persuaded."

"Voldemorts army has grown large enough. He is very happy"

Harry threw up once more before falling back in a dead faint. 


	5. Plimpin Aftermath

Tension in the school had grown and many people were found to be in tight groups; gossiping about the mornings events and their ideas of what will happen next.

After Harry's collapse, he had been taken to the hospital wing and no one save for Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey had seen him. 

It was only after Ron and Hermione snuck in that afternoon that they found Harry was no longer in the hospital wing, but had indeed been in a meeting with Dumbledore and several other professors during the day, and had really only spent a short time in the hospital wing.

Theodore Nott had been allowed to speak to his mum and Draco was not seen for most of the day either.

Some people, such as the Weasley Twins had fun keeping everyone amused and light hearted by serving out dishes of new treats from their shop; like '_bouncy boinger's_, letting students literally bounce through the corridors, as well as '_No Ass-in Around Gum Drops'_ which gave students long donkey-like ears and even made them sound like donkeys.

Some students worried about Harry's actions at breakfast, but others concluded that it was just Harry being dramatic about a silly dream he was having; nothing bad could happen to them whilst they were at Hogwarts anyway!

So as the worried students, particularly the younger students, fretted over that mornings happenings, other students rolled their eyes and tried to talk some sense into the others.

All in all, it was a fairly emotional day (except for those rolling their eyes!), and Harry's mind was whirring with thoughts by the time he got back to the common room that evening. He slipped in with his invisibility cloak hung over him so he could be left alone but found that impossible as he entered the dormitory and found all the boys, as well as Hermione, waiting for him to finally come back.

Hermione was of course the first to rush towards him; knowing only to well that the 'nothing' that just invisibly walked in was in fact Harry.

"Harry! Oh Harry! Are you alright? They wouldn't let us come in to see you and I told them how ridiculous that was but they insisted and I was so worried and you kept throwing up and you've been gone for so long and they never told us you left the hospital wing and we thought something had happened to you and oh my god we were so worried!"

Hermione tried to draw breath before starting again but Harry cut in, "It's alright Hermione! _I'm _alright! I was only in the hospital wing for a couple of hours while I slept and they gave me a couple of potions to take and since then I've just been with Dumbledore and everything will be ok! Dumbledore is having Theodore Nott looked after and he's taking care of some other business."

Hermione was hugging him very tightly but Ron soon came over to lightly peel her off of him before clapping Harry on the back and smiling. "I knew you'd be ok – you've been through worse than his morning!" He paused, but hesitantly continued on soon after, "But uh... what actually happened this morning? What did you see?"

Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to answer so opted for making the excuse that he was tired and wanted to get some sleep after such a draining day. Everyone gave him his space and soon all the others had gone to bed too; Harry lying wide awake with his hangings drawn.

When he was sure everyone was asleep (Neville and Ron both snoring loudly), he quietly got up and walked out of the dormitory – pulling his invisibility cloak on along the way.

It was now close to midnight and the corridors were cold and quiet as he slowly made his way down the well worn path to the kitchens. He easily avoided Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, and soon found himself stroking the pear in a familiar painting.

Once inside, he pulled off his cloak and Dobby was by his side instantly. "Harry Potter, sir! Dobby has heard most terrible things sir! House elves hear all, sir! Is it true? Would you like a cold drink; or perhaps some tea with a biscuit, Harry Potter?"

Harry chuckled at Dobby's inability to _not_ serve him, even when worried for Harry's well-being.

"No thanks, Dobby; I'm fine. I just need to... think things over."

Dobby slowly nodded his head and said "Dobby is here if you needs me, Sir!" before he clicked his fingers and was gone, leaving Harry in the empty kitchen.

He found his usual spot at the window over looking the dark lake; becoming lost in his thoughts as he stared at a group of plimpy's, he wondered what would be the best course of action for the coming times.

"Are you really ok?"

Harry was startled as a quiet voiced suddenly appeared from his side and he turned to find Draco standing there, slight worry etched in his face.

"I'm..." Harry tried to repeat that he was fine – that he was ok and his dream from that morning was nothing, but found he couldn't and so resorted to shrugging and looking back out the window.

He knew Draco didn't fully understand what had happened that morning; not many people _really_ understood what happened when he had one of his dreams. Many people just thought he had scary nightmares after all the things he'd seen over the years.

Draco just nodded and stood by the window as well, noting a particular plimpy whose legs had been tied into a knot; most probably one of the merpeople.

It was some time before either boy broke the silence; both enjoying the comforting companionship. "Hey... What's your favourite colour?" Harry asked, still looking out the window.

He didn't see the small smile work its way onto Draco's face as he replied "Green". Harry looked up after a moment to find Draco staring into his eyes. Harry smiled and blushed slightly as he looked out the window again.

"Mine's silver". His smile grew wider and Draco couldn't help but grin.

"What's your favourite season?" Harry was surprised that Draco was now the one to ask a question, but happily answered. "Autumn. Yours?"

"Yeah, autumn. When it's not too cold, but just cold enough."

"And all the leaves are gold and red and brown. And they crunch when you stomp on them"

Draco laughed at Harry' reasoning's and sat against the wall near Harry, motioning for him to sit too.

Harry was the next to ask a question: What's your _least_ favourite food?

"No doubt about it: Asparagus! There should be a law against making people eat that stuff!"

Harry laughed "Really? I can't eat sushi; there's something about eating seaweed that just makes me gag"

The aimless questions went back and forth for a long time and Draco was pleasantly surprised to find that he had been having the most fun, just sitting here talking, than he had had in quite some time.

Harry stretched as the hard floor was becoming uncomfortable. "I should probably get going. It's pretty late."

He stood up and held out his had for Draco to take. As Draco was pulled up, he found himself unbelievably close to Harry, still holding his hand.

Harry wasn't sure of what had overcome him lately, but he plucked up his courage once more and went for it; kissing Draco again with more force than the last time.

Draco couldn't breathe. Possibly _slightly_ due to Harry's tongue trying to gain entry to his _mouth_, but more over to the extreme emotions rushing through him. He was thrilled but partially confused and scared at the same time. Why was Harry doing this?

Harry on the other hand was scared shitless. Feeling euphoric, but scared shitless none the less!

He pulled Draco in closer towards him and soon they were comfortably making out against the wall.

Harry broke off eventually. "Uh... I really should go." With one last look at Draco, he turned around and left the kitchens; leaving Draco standing there shocked, once again. 

!.THE END.! 

(Of this chapter:D)

I AM SO SORRY!! I know it has taken me ages to post this chapter!! But honestly right now, my life is _hectic!_ I have so much going on right now; I probably shouldn't even be writing this now! Although, I actually wrote most of this chapter about a week or so ago... But anyway, I know how annoying it is when you're reading a story and then the author doesn't post up the next chapter for like a year... so again, I'm sorry!!

ALSO I know the whole silver/green colour thing is majorly over rated – but I couldn't help it! Don't be mad at me!

AND I read about Plimpy's in 'Fantastic beasts and where to find them' ... I didn't just make them up! 

Please review! It makes me feel so special!!

xox


	6. Chorded Words

A mini war had raged in Draco's mind all night; he was plagued of ideas of what he wanted to do, what he should do, what everyone would think of him, and on top of this, the consequences of any actions. 

The night before had woken him up to the reality of life; he was the son of a death eater and Harry was meant to be the saviour of the wizarding world. They couldn't possibly be together! Eventually the war would break out and Draco figured by that time his father would probably have turned him into a Death Eater; dark mark and all.

But did he want to become a Death Eater? Of course he did! ... Right?... Well, it's not like he had a choice, anyway! He was so confused with the notion of possibly having a relationship with Harry – he was downright scared. What if his father found out?

It was midday on Sunday before he decided to drag himself out of bed and down to the hall to get something to eat.

Pansy happily greeted him and nudged Goyle over so Draco could sit next to her. "Feeling alright Draco? We tried to wake you up this morning but you wouldn't budge, so we thought maybe you needed the sleep."

"Yeah I'm ok – just tired I suppose." He poked at the food that Pansy was piling onto his plate and nibbled on some when she pointed out it was getting cold.

Draco looked up across the hall and noticed Harry looking back at him.

"What's wrong Draco? You look all flushed…" Pansy looked mildly concerned and held her hand to his forehead to check his temperature.

"Uhm." Draco didn't know what to do. _I can't deal with this now! _He thought wildly. "You know what? Yeah I am feeling sick! Yeah. I'll go now!" He quickly jumped up and almost ran out of the hall.

The hall door slammed shut behind him and he leaned against the wall with his head in his hands.

"Oh jeez... What do I do now?" He said to himself. "'I'll... I'll just avoid him for a while until I figure this out! Yeah, that sounds like a good plan!" He started walking towards the dungeons when he stopped.

"No, I'm being stupid. I should just talk to him. Yeah; of course that will be better!" He turned around and started walking towards the hall again before stopping outside the doors.

"What was I thinking? He won't understand! What am I, insane?" He turned around and purposefully started to walk down to the dungeons again.

"Hey Malfoy! Wait up!" Draco froze. He recognised the voice instantly but didn't know what to do - Be courageous and tell Harry his feelings, or run like a coward?

Draco went to turn around, but instead found himself running full speed down to the dungeons. It was only when he was in the safety of his dormitory that he realised what he had done.

"Damn" 

---

"Hey Harry! Where did you run off to after lunch? I thought you might have gone to join Dean and Seamus; they're planning a small game of quidditch outside. I've never been as good as all of you, but I thought even I might join them. You should come!" 

"Yeah sure Hermione, I'll meet you down there. I'll just be a second." 

"You seem a bit distracted; anything the matter?" Hermione sat herself down next to Harry on his bed and made herself comfortable.

He watched her for a moment. "No, no. Everything is fine; I was just thinking is all." 

"Alright, well come out and get some fresh air. Being cooped up in here all day will do you no good. Come on, then!" She jumped up smiling and linked her arm through Harry's, bouncing out the door with Harry laughing by her side; her good mood spreading like a contagious bug.

--- 

"Oy Harry! Heads up!"

Seamus threw the quaffle to Harry who was playing as a chaser in their modified game of quidditch. Instead of three chasers, there were four on each team; there were no seekers, anyone near the goal posts could be the goal keeper and instead of using bludgers, exploding cream-filled pastries were charmed to charge at different players.

Harry ducked and laughed as Hermione hit a pastry his way which ended up hitting Ron in the face; cream, and possibly jam, oozing all over him.

Harry passed to Neville who was also laughing and so ended up spectacularly missing it.

The game continued and was quite a great game; it seemed to pass the time by quite well, letting Harry forget the previous events of the day. They were only forced to stop playing when the sun started to go down and visibility became hard; Ron couldn't wait to have a shower as some cream seemed to be stuck in his ear.

--- 

Late that night, when Harry was still trying to sleep after having gone to bed several hours earlier, his mind was racing as to what he should do next, thoughts returning to Draco. He now realised he had acted too quickly with Draco, but knew if he didn't do anything soon, he might never get the same opportunity to be with him.

He had believed everything had been going well; Draco certainly didn't seem to mind at the time! Harry had even bought something for him. He had been going to give it to him soon after, but now wasn't sure if it was wise to do so. Harry knew he should probably get some sleep; but the thought of not doing anything to fix his new dilemma made him too agitated to be able to sleep anyway. 

Like he usually did when he couldn't sleep; Harry got up and made his way down to the kitchens – silently walking through the halls under his invisibility cloak.

Inside the kitchens he saw a sleeping figure by one of the tables. Stepping closer, he made out it was in fact Draco, an Ancient Runes book opened before him; no doubt he had been studying for the same test Hermione had been studying for.

Harry was going to wake him up but he looked so peaceful and tired that he decided otherwise. Instead, he pulled out the gift he had bought for him and placed it in his open hand. It was a necklace: a silver Japanese symbol hanging on a black leather chord, a tiny inscription on the back reading '_love_'.

Harry watched him sleep a moment longer before leaving as silently as he came.

--- 

Ten minutes into the transfiguration class the next day, a class shared with the Slytherins and Gryffindors, Harry's thoughts returned to the same which had plagued him for days now. An anxious feeling in his stomach was still there, had been for days now; it didn't help that he hadn't had a chance to talk to Draco yet. Forcing himself to return to the notes he was supposed to be writing, another ten minutes passed and suddenly a large owl swooped through the window to land on Professor McGonagall's desk.

Everyone looked up as Professor McGonagall untied the note and read it; her expression becoming hard and rigid.

"Mr. Potter... Could you come here, please?"

Harry had been dreading this moment. He knew what was about to happen. He slowly got up and made his way to her desk where he was given the short letter to read.

_'Professor McGonagall,  
_

_  
The time has come and the deciding war has now dawned upon us._

Please excuse Harry from your class and tell him to meet me in the Entrance hall, fully prepared.  
He is greatly needed to fulfil his destiny.

Both Harry and I shall be gone for an unknown period of time, and you will remain in charge.

Please keep all students calm and, above all, safe during this dangerous time ahead  
Wish us the best of luck.

Sincerely,  
Albus Dumbledore.'

Harry ran a hand through his hair and slowly nodded as he processed what was about to happen.

He was about to go and fight against what he had hated ever since he had known about it, to fight for all he knew now. The war could go either way; he could be victorious and Voldemort would be gone forever, or he could fail and leave everyone at his mercy. Fail and never see his friends again. 

Never see Draco again.

He closed his eyes for a second and gave the note back to Professor McGonagall, who had now risen from her chair.

"Good luck Mr. Potter. Be careful and try to stay safe. Remember, you have power that Voldemort could never imagine. And you are an even better wizard than you give yourself credit for; I know you can do this, Harry." She said quietly and sincerely, not quite loud enough for the class to hear, her eyes glassy and face drawn in worry.

"Thank you Professor. So... I guess I should be going now..."

The whole class was staring and Hermione was now gripping Ron's hand very tightly, making small, whimpering noises as her breathing became faster. It was obvious what was happening, although they hadn't heard the professor's words. 

Harry turned around and saw his two best friends. They could tell he was trying to hide how scared he felt and Hermione jumped up and hugged him as tightly as she could; tears starting to stream down her face.

Harry hugged her back as hard as he could; trying to show he cared whilst also trying to hide his shaking. He saw Ron, who was paler than ever, standing anxiously next to them, waiting to say goodbye to his best friend. Hermione let go of Harry and let Ron give him a hug.

"Take care of each other. I'll... I'll see you soon." He said with an attempt of a smile.

"Please be careful Harry! We love you so much! Please just come back to us, safe and sound!"

"I can't believe we can't come with you Harry... But just give us the word and we'll be right there next to you! If you need us, we'll find a way to get to you, okay?"

After their goodbye's and good lucks, Harry took a deep breath once more and determinedly walked to the door at the back of the room, catching Draco's eyes, before he stepped out and was gone; No one knew when or even if they would ever see him again.

There was now an empty silence in the room except for Hermione and Ron; both crying, both hoping for the best. 

-----------------------

Hi! I just want to give special thanks to Sarah – my very first Beta!!  
She's basically amazing!!

xox 


	7. The Hunt Begins

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to it **

* * *

"Ok… Ok now! No wait!... Go… now! No, ok. Just another second… yeah… ok… _any_ second now… -"

Draco had been berating with himself for the last ten minutes, and just when he'd find the perfect time, his plans would be ruined again.

"Gah! This is impossible!" He swore aloud as the object of his interests was joined by yet another, seemingly never-leaving, person. Draco was looking particularly worse for wear as he ruffled his hand through his hair in frustration.

It had been three ridiculously long weeks since that transfiguration lesson when _he_ had left and Draco had been in turmoil ever since. And no one, of course, thought to give Draco Malfoy any information about his where abouts! Why would they? He was the son of a Death Eater and, according to the rest of the school, mortal enemies with Harry. So why on earth would they want to give _him_ any details?

"_Tools!" H_e muttered as people offered sympathetic hugs to each other, never realizing he was lurking around the corner.

"Mr. Malfoy, what _are _you doing?"

Draco whipped round, his hand subconsciously flying to the necklace he was wearing, as Professor McGonagall stepped up behind him. She stared questioningly at him as he rushed to say the first thing that popped into his head.

"What? What a silly question! Can't someone just stand here without being accused of something? Am I doing anything illegal? I don't think so! I'm not doing anything wrong! _Why_ does everyone always think I'm doing something wrong? I'm just standing here innocently and I'd appreciate it if people didn't keep attacking me about it! I mean, does it _look_ like I'm up to something? –"

"Mr. Malfoy? _Mr. Malfoy!_" McGonagall held her hands up in a calming manner, hoping to stop him from his high speed ramble. "I just thought you looked stressed; and from the looks of your reaction, I'd say my judgement was not so far from the mark."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, and then said, "Would you like some tea? I've found it helps people keep a level head in these tough times."

"I, uh..." Draco was quite surprised in her response; not at all expecting to be offered tea. And why was she giving him that weird look?

"No. I mean, no thanks Professor. I'll just..." he fished around for a suitable excuse to leave. Coming up with nothing, he just opened and closed him mouth a couple of times, shrugged his shoulders helplessly and then pointed in the direction of his dormitory. She nodded and just as he was leaving he snuck a glance at his previous point, only to see the group of people turning the corner; bushy brown hair flicking out of site.

* * *

Draco had once again been woken by horrible dreams. Screams echoed through his head and forced him to wakefulness throughout the whole of the early morning. The lack of sleep was exaggerating his foul mood as he sat in the Great Hall that morning, watching two-thirds of the Golden Trio sitting huddled together. Admittedly, Draco did feel sorry for them; they looked just as worse off as he did and Hermione looked as though she too had had very little sleep.

He played with his Porridge as he glared at people from across the hall, patting Ron and Hermione sombrely on the back as they walked past. This only made him feel worse. He wanted people to sympathise for him, not send him dirty looks in the hall ways. He wanted to scream out what had happened between Harry and himself, but he knew he couldn't. Who would believe him even if he did?

As snow began to fall more steadily and the crisp leaves began to drop from the trees in greater abundance, Draco's need for information grew. He had now memorised Hermione Granger's timetable in hopes of finally being able to catch her alone, and, in a good enough mood to not blow him off without first listening to him.

Today was one of those rare days in which Hermione had a free period and Ron did not – leaving Draco an hours gap to find and talk to her without Ron trying to bite his head off, which nowadays, seemed to be happening more and more frequently.

If Ron was not having frantic, hushed conversations with Hermione, he was in an edgy mood; always ready to glare and snap at Draco, often cursing him with a stupid spell which seemed to stick his tongue to the roof of his mouth. Hermione, Draco hoped, would at least not find this particular spell as amusing as Ron did.

Adrenaline pumped its way through him as, after looking for her everywhere, Draco saw Hermione returning from the library, laden with heavy books. He smoothly jumped out from around the corner but as she looked up at him from a mere three foot distance away, his heart froze and his rehearsed conversation plan seemed to plummet from his mind.

"What do you want?" She asked suspiciously as she took a step back and took in his frozen form. Then his mind kicked into motion again and he regained his composure, continuing on as though nothing even remotely strange had happened.

He took a step forward, looked her in the eyes and asked her coolly, "Everything going well then?"

Draco had thought it was obvious what, or _who_, he was referring to, but Hermione only stared at him with a blank expression. "You know," He carried on, hoping to prompt her, "Boy Wonder is still alive and... Well?"

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She repeated. He was about to try again when someone rounded the corner.

"Oi! You get away from her!" Ron came running to Hermione's side and glared down at Draco.

Draco remained calm even though his mind was screaming with rage. "Shouldn't you be in class, Weasley? Or did they finally realise you were a lost cause and stop bothering to teach you? I can hardly blame them; what with an idiot like you, they had no chance in succeeding!"

Ron made to grab for his wand but Hermione stopped him, saying "Come on Ron – he's not worth it".

And then Draco's chance of finding out what was happening to Harry marched down the corridor, pulling an angry Ron behind her.

* * *

The months dragged on as a war raged both in and outside of Draco's mind. Rumours were flying around Hogwarts, and just when he had given up hope, he would overhear someone say "I heard he was captured by ten Death Eaters! Stunned them all and escaped! I knew he could!"

He had been trying to tell himself to stop thinking about Harry and to let him go, but every time he heard a rumour like this he felt as though his heart was being painfully tugged by some imaginary hand. And yet, he couldn't help but smile because Harry had managed to escape danger one more time.

He was confused by his apparent obsession of Harry Potter. They had been rivals, enemies for six years. Could they have changed? Or once Harry returned were they to be, as ever, only to communicate in hateful gestures? And that was, Draco thought dismally, only _if_ Harry returned at all.

He wanted to know whether or not he had a chance to see if what he felt for Harry was real and returned, or whether he should just give up. So during their shared transfiguration lesson on Friday afternoon, Draco decided once and for all he would have to talk to Hermione (with no interruptions from annoying red-heads) by any means he could – he would even bribe her if he had to!

"Ok now class," Professor McGonagall started once her class had fallen silent. "You have by now mostly succeeded in transfiguring parts of yourselves-" She paused for a second as she took in Neville's bright red face and sinking form.

"- Of course, it doesn't matter if you have _not_ yet succeeded as you will still have time to practice. However, today we will be moving on to transfiguring the features of others! Therefore we will be breaking off into pairs and trying to change the colour of your partners' hair."

There was a murmur of excitement throughout the room before Professor McGonagall once again started to speak. "The pairs shall be as follows: Parvati and Lavender, Seamus and Dean, Vincent and Gregory, Pansy and Blaise, Neville and Ron, Theodore and Hannah and finally Hermione and Draco."

Her eyes seemed to linger on Draco for a second before she carried on explaining the correct wand usage.

As Draco collected his books to move to Hermione's desk, he contemplated the strange look McGonagall had given him; this was, after all, the second time he had been confused and surprised by her actions.

He was knocked out of his thoughts though when Ron passed by and slammed his shoulder into him. "If you try anything funny on Hermione, Malfoy, if you hurt her in _any_ way, I swear you will wish you had never been born!"

Draco slammed his books down next to Hermione. The thought of calming himself down flashed through his mind but it was gone in an instant and within a second he found himself face to face with Ron again.

"What the _fuck_ is your problem, Weasley?"

The whole class stopped to watch the exchange, but Professor McGonagall would not hear of it. She came storming up to them with surprising speed saying, "Mr Malfoy! You will not use such foul language in my class! – "

Draco put his hand up to stop her, his fiery eyes never leaving Rons'. "No. Excuse me Professor, but just let me say this."

"I have not done _anything_ to you and your friends for _weeks_ now. In fact, if anything has happened between us, it has been because _you_ started it. Now, we _all_ realise and understand that you are going through a tough time at the moment, but get your head out of your _arse_ and take a look around! You are not the _only_ one with problems here! You are not the _only_ one who is worried sick! So for _fucks sake_ stop acting like the world revolves around your wranger head! And if you try hexing me _one_ more time, I swear to God, you'll wish _you'd_ never been born!"

Ron was beet red by this stage and the whole class seemed to be frozen in shock as Draco, still seething in rage, started packing his books back into his bag.

"Yeah, well at least I was born into a family who actually wanted me!"

Draco looked up at Ron's retort and slammed his bag closed after glaring at him and yelling "Well at least I was born into a family who could actually _afford _me!"

Professor McGonagall seemed to snap out of her stupor at this point in time and demanded the boys to stop immediately, but Draco had already slung his bag over his shoulder. Muttering a small 'Thanks Professor', he stalked out of the class and slammed the door behind him.

It was only a whisper filled twenty minutes later when the bell sounded for the end of class that Hermione found a small, neat note in her bag.

_Meet me in the prefects' bathroom at nine._

* * *

**Hi!** Ok sorry it took so long to get the next chapter up! And im sorry but it will probably be another 6 weeks before the next one is up... sorry!

Also - it's really exciting: i just learnt how to do those page breaker lines!! D

Haha anyway, i really want to thank my beta - Sarah!! She great and reminds me about things like putting Disclaimers in!! D

Have a good christmas everyone[in 2 weeks..!!

xox


	8. Bathroom Meetings

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything to do with!**

* * *

Hermione sucked on the tip of her Sugar-Quill as she stared into the crackling fire. Ever since she had received that note, she had not been able to concentrate on her work. She had a fair idea of who had sent it to her but was curious as to understand his desperation to meet with her.

Looking down at her Ancient Runes book, she realised it had been open on the same page for the last half an hour. She packed it away into her bag, deciding she had already studied more than most people for this test and could probably take a break to clear her mind, and looked over to Ron.

To her surprise, he had been working quite well tonight; he had finished his potions essay, his writing seemed to get larger the further down the page she saw, but she decided not to say anything, and had even been to the library that afternoon to search through another pile of books for anything that may be of service to Harry.

She herself had spent copious amounts of time in the library researching a particular picture Harry had sent to them. There was no note attached to the picture, only a quickly scribbled question mark on the corner. But Hermione wasn't sure what he didn't understand - it was simply a picture of a wealthy looking family. The father was reading the daily prophet in a large armchair; the mother writing what seemed to be a letter at a nearby desk, a dazzling ring glimmering on her dainty fingers; a young girl drawing a squiggle on a piece of parchment, coloured crayons littering the floor around her.

She sighed as she thought how she had failed Harry; he had asked her for help and she was unable to give him any. They had searched the whole library during the Christmas holidays for anything which may give them a clue as to what the last horcrux could be, they had even been allowed in the restricted section, but had so far found nothing. And now this picture only baffled Hermione even more; as far as she could tell, it really was just a photo of a wealthy family.

She sighed again as she looked at the clock and realised she should be leaving now. As she got up, Ron finally looked up and saw she had stopped studying and asked where she was going. Only after she had returned from dropping her bag off in her dormitory and returned with a different bag did she reply that she was going to take a bath.

"Don't wait up." She called out as she closed the common room door behind her. Ron shrugged to himself and continued on his newly started Defence Against the Dark Arts homework.

* * *

Her prefects badge shining in the moonlight, Hermione made her way through the deserted halls. She knew it didn't particularly matter if she were caught wandering the halls after hours as she was a prefect, but none the less, she had come prepared with an excuse.

As she came closer and closer to the bathroom, she thought that Malfoy had really been quite clever. She had packed some spare clothes in her bag and if she was found in the halls, all she had to say was that she was going to the bathroom, which wasn't exactly a lie anyway, and her bag was the extra touch which seemed to make it all that bit more believable.

She whispered the password and stepped into the bathroom to find Malfoy already there, sitting on a sink, a bag at his heel.

"You actually showed up" he stated.

"It would be rude not to do so."

Malfoy seemed to be thinking as he sat there, slowly nodding. Silence fell between them and Hermione stood there, not quite sure what she was meant to be doing and not feeling quite as secure as she had hoped to.

Malfoy came out of his reverie as Hermione dropped her bag on the floor and he slid off the sink and walked towards her.

Hermione was tense and when she saw him reach for his wand, she was ready.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She was pointing her wand at him now and took a step back.

"Woah; calm down Granger! I was just going to make sure we weren't interrupted." He made obvious movements so as to show her exactly what he was doing. He tapped the bathroom door and muttered a locking spell, and then he waved his wand around the room and muttered a silencing spell.

Hermione's cheeks flushed a little. "Oh, well… What's this all about, anyway?"

He could tell she was still tense, but Malfoy retook his place sitting on the sink and contemplated for a moment on how he should best say this.

"Well Granger, I wanted to know how everything was going…"

"You've already asked me this."

"And you never answered me"

"And have you ever given me good reason to trust you?"

Malfoy clenched his jaw but decided now was not the time to lose his cool. "No," he pushed on, "but I would like to know how Potter is going."

"Look Malfoy, other people may worship you and do everything you tell them to, but what on earth would make you think I'm the same? _Why_ would I tell you what's happening with Harry?"

She was giving him a stern, slightly disbelieving look, and Malfoy didn't know what to say. He didn't particularly want to tell her about Harry and himself, but couldn't think of any other reason to make her tell him.

Hermione clicked her tongue at his silence, taking it to mean he had no good reason to know that information, and went to pick up her bag and walk out the door again.

"No wait!" he called out for her, just as she was turning the door handle.

"Give me one good reason why I should stay and talk to you! How do I know you're not going to go running off to your Daddy and tell him everything I tell you? How do I know _you're_ not secretly conspiring against Harry? It wouldn't surprise me! You've always hated h- "

"I think I love him."

Hermione stopped midsentence, trying to take in what she had just heard. It wasn't making sense.

"Excuse me?"

Malfoy cleared his throat and repeated a little louder this time, "I think I love him, and I think he loved me too". He couldn't look Hermione in the face but instead looked down at his shoes, hoping she wouldn't notice the slight blush forming on his cheeks.

"I… but… that's _impossible_! Why would Harry love you? You've tormented him since the day he met you! This is _insane_ Malfoy. _You're_ insane!"

His heart sank. He knew this was the kind of reaction he would get if he ever told someone, but he had hoped maybe Hermione would be a bit more open-minded.

"He gave me a necklace." It sounded feeble but he pulled out the necklace from under his shirt and showed it to her; she looked perplexed.

"Harry gave you this necklace?"

"Yes. It means love."

"Harry walked up to you and physically gave this necklace to you?"

"Well no, I was asleep."

"So how do you know it was Harry? How do you know it wasn't from _anyone else_ in the castle?"

Malfoy scoffed. "Look Granger, with my Father being so chummy with the Dark Lord and all, I'm not exactly the most popular kid around at the moment. And I know what you're probably thinking: that of all the people not to be happy with me in the castle as of late, Harry should have been at the very top of the list… but I… it… I don't know" he sighed, "I just know it was from him."

'_He really is insane'_ Hermione thought as she stared at him for a moment.

"So let me get this straight: After years of hatred, Harry asks you a couple of questions during breakfast and all of a sudden he is in love with you and leaving you sentimental gifts, showing you his adoration for you, whilst you sleep?"

Malfoy realised how utterly ridiculous it sounded when she said it aloud, but really, it was the truth; even if he was sure it hadn't instantaneously happened over night.

Hermione shook her head. "Sorry Malfoy, this is just too weird; I can't believe it"

She picked up her bag again to leave and a look of utter desperation flashed across Malfoy's eyes.

"_Please_! I'll give you this book if you tell me! ... And keep me updated!" He quickly pulled from his bag a large, ancient looking book with faded symbols tracing over the black cover. "I think it will help you! And you _definitely_ won't find it in the school library"

"Are you _bribing_ me, Malfoy?"

"Are you accepting my bribe?" He gave her a look as if to say it were an offer she couldn't refuse.

Hermione gave him a calculating look as she took the book from him. She flicked through a couple of pages, her expression never changing.

She neatly placed it into her bag as she cleared her throat and said, "Harry is doing well. He's had some matters to attend to and has had a little bit of trouble, but Ron and I are helping him. All the Death Eaters are out there, looking for him, but he's somehow managed to escape them all. He's been working very hard and I think he's a little tired, but I know he can do it."

She paused as she thought for a moment. "That's all I really know for the time being. It's hard to get messages from him because he's constantly moving and if he's not careful, they'll figure out he's communicating with us."

Hermione gauged Malfoy's reaction. He nodded slowly and smiled a little.

He thanked her as she left the room and added, "Oh and Granger, I know he can do it too."

* * *

Hey guys!  
Sorry - it always seems to take so long to post up a new chapter!  
Hopefully the next one will be up sooner, but considering school at the moment, sooner might not be too soon!  
But I'll try!

Also, I want to thank my beta, Sarah, again! D


End file.
